“What…?” I whispered in pain and eventually stumbled to the ground, my legs no longer functioning.

The crowd collectively gasped.

I could feel nothing but the cold ground against my hot body. My chest was in agony, as if I had been stabbed. “No…”. I thought in panic. “Not like this…”.

But it was too late, and I had died again—even though I had just arrived in this world. Was God taking away the one opportunity they had given me?

“Damn it!” I cursed frustratingly.

“Magnificent! Such talent…and without sight”, a deep voice said with curiosity in my ears, but all I could see was black miasma and nothing more. “I wonder what other things you could show me?”.

I parted my lips but could not respond, and my body turned stiff on the cold ground.

“What was that?” I screamed as I got up, breathing heavily, my fingers gripping the sheets. I could feel that I was back—back in my room, on my bed.

“Ah, the blind man talks,” a childish voice chimed in.

“Who are you? And what am I doing here? Back in my room…?” I questioned, frowning. What the hell was happening? First, I was transmigrated into this body; then I died – again. How ridiculous. But then again, death was starting to not feel so unfamiliar.

“How rude,” the childish voice mocked. “Is this how a courtesan speaks to their guests?”.

I remained silent, not replying to the child, choosing my words carefully. Something was strange about the voice; it was immature, like a child, yes, but something was unsettling about it. Wait, was it even a child? “What are you?” I asked, suspicious of the identity.

As I was in deep contemplation, I heard the noise of the fingers snapping, and suddenly, my dark view brightened as a large blue translucent screen materialized before me, hovering just inches away from my face.

“This is a system, isn’t it?” I asked, familiar with the concept seen in the games and simulations. The thrill began to sink as I recognized the screen, a grin spread across my face, forgetting the predicament I was in—a wide, almost maniac grin.

“Well, then,” I murmured. “Let’s see what we are dealing with”.

So weak, I thought as I saw my attributes. As a former pro gamer, I knew that this body was a disaster waiting to happen. 5 for strength, just how weak am I? I let out a slight scoff. However, I noticed my intelligence and perception were the highest as expected. But the status didn’t stop there, and I hoped something worthwhile was in the status that I could work on. I then proceeded to read the [Skills] section.

[Sixth Sense], [Enhanced Hearing], [Persuasion], [Critical Analysis], [Charisma] and [AI].

These were the six skills available to me. It didn’t sound too bad since six skills for a beginner was an achievement. But let’s see what each of these skills can do. I focused on the skill tabs, and they each unfurled open one by one.

[Sixth Sense – Passive

Rank: B

A heightened sense that allows the user to sense danger and react to it more efficiently]

[Enhanced Hearing – Passive

Rank: C

A heightening sense due to overusing it]

[Persuasion – Passive

Rank: C

Enhances the user’s ability to influence and convince others]

[Critical Analysis – Active

Rank: A

Can analyze opponent’s weaknesses and strengths in a matter of seconds. Allows the user to find a way to defeat their opponent or manipulate them

Cooldown: 5 minutes]

[Charisma – Passive

Rank: C

Increases the success rate of negotiating and influencing]

[Artificial Intelligence – Active

Rank: S

Another consciousness within the user to enhance combat planning

Cooldown: One Week]

“Not bad”, I mused. With a faint smile on my face, I said, “Not bad at all. These skills would work in my favor if I were to use them at the right time. This system makes it much easier to plan”.

The [Sixth Sense] skill was very crucial for someone like me who was blind. ‘This skill is extremely invaluable,’ I thought. “Being able to detect threats is a game changer. This will keep me out of danger before anyone else gets too close to me”.

The [Enhanced Hearing] skill would be essential during combat situations. This would help me catch every footstep and every attack coming near me. However, my lips twitched slightly at the description. Overuse, huh? I shrugged. If it works, it works.

“Ah, the [Persuasion] skill,” I said softly with excitement. “Being able to influence others is very OP. This skill could create new opportunities; sometimes even words can be deadly”, I muttered since I’d always been great at reading people.

Seeing the [Critical Analysis], my mind lit up since it was perfect for a strategist like me. Exploiting the opponents could be fun. Information is power, after all.

The [Charisma] skill was something that paired up well with [Persuasion]. It could be a deadly combo.

Lastly was the [A.I.] skill, which was quite unusual. “I have never seen anything like this before,” I thought, amused. An A.I. in my mind? That was interesting…it was an S-rank skill, too. This skill will easily take over during combat when necessary. This skill intrigued my pro gamer soul, but I thought of experimenting with it before I started using it during combat. I have an intuition that if this skill is used correctly, it can lead to something more.

“Now shut up, would you? With your muttering, it’s getting on my nerves”, the childish voice snapped, bringing me out of my thoughts. “Why would you go off rambling things to yourself? Leaving me all alone. I should’ve told you to be quiet”.

And before I could react, I felt a sudden shift. My head was upside down, suspended in the air, and I felt my body spurting out the blood. My neck had been sliced through clean. I blinked once and twice; suddenly, it was as if nothing had happened, and my neck was still intact. There wasn’t a drop of blood to be found.

“That was just a surprise punishment for leaving me alone and talking to yourself,” the childish voice sinisterly chuckles like the devil’s spawn. “Next time, it won’t be just your head”.

I gulped. Just a second ago, I could feel as if my head had been busted like a bubble. …I knew the next time I had left the creature alone or had gone against its orders, that could be me and not an imagination. I watched the creature in front of me with fearless eyes; the bloodbath was nothing I couldn’t stand anymore. After seeing my mother die in front of me, no one else’s blood mattered as much to me. Whatever happened to them, I couldn’t care less if I could save myself.

“Your life has been nice so far, hasn’t it?” the childish voice questioned.

And I couldn’t help but twitch at the question. Nice? You call this nice? However, I remained silent until I knew more information about the creature in front of me.

“The people of this world, some are living in peace while the others have to pay the price for breathing, eating, and even pooping!” the voice retorted. “You live in a world of pleasure, don’t you?”.

The voice scoffed, seeing me nod proudly. So, what if this body had lived in a world of pleasure nothing was wrong with that. Since everyone’s fate is decided where and when they’re born.

“For such people, the Tower has assigned them missions. The chosen people, you should be honored! Male Courtesan!” the voice said, looking through me.

So, the creature had found out I was a male. Not that it matters—I’d be weird if it didn’t.

“If you accept the mission, then the Tower will grant you another skill to help you achieve your goal. Trust me, you’ll want it”, the childish voice whispered in my ears like a devil tempting me to take the golden fruit.

“What’s the mission?” I asked, weighing the offer.

“As I said, I can’t tell you!” the childish voice said frustratingly.

Just then, a thought entered my mind: could the creature see my status or the skills I had? “What kind of skill would the Tower give me? Would it give me the skill that is suitable for me?” I asked the creature.

The voice halted as if I had asked a strange question: was I not supposed to? But it was a long enough pause to confirm my suspicions.

“The Tower will send you the skill…” the voice said, a bit uncertain. “You have no right to question the upper authorities,” the voice continued.

I grinned. My intuition was correct this creature, whatever it was, couldn’t see my stats or skills. It had been prohibited to, being that the creature was only the manager of this Tower bound by the rules. It was exciting to find out there were Towers in this world, but for what reason?

“I have quite high-ranked skills. I hope the Tower hands me a great skill,” I continued, making sure this creature knew my worth.

“Yeah, yeah. The Tower doesn’t just hand out skills for nothing. The Constellations have given this as a prize for accepting the missions provided by them”, the creature ranted on.

The Constellations, huh?

“Very well, then. I accept the Tower’s mission”, I said, accepting the deal even though it seemed like a trap. But having one more skill and the Constellation’s trust, nothing could replace that in the situation I’m in.

“You have made the right choice,” the creature spoke. “Welcome to the Tower,” the creature continued, snapping his fingers, and just then, I received two new notifications, which left me wide-eyed.